


Lost to Light

by battlesonskyscrapers



Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: Behind the Scenes, Cayde-6 Being Cayde-6 (Destiny), Eris disliking Cayde-6, Implied Relationships, Mission Gone Wrong, Panic, loss of communication, lots of canon dialogue
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-03
Updated: 2019-07-03
Packaged: 2020-06-03 05:16:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19457134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/battlesonskyscrapers/pseuds/battlesonskyscrapers
Summary: From the perspective of Cayde-6 and Eris during the Lost to Light mission. Things were just as frantic for the Hunter Vanguard as they were for Astra, the guardian sent on this mission.





	Lost to Light

**Author's Note:**

> I was still shook for a while after having finished this mission, it definitely didn't fail to make me panic. I got to thinking, how did Cayde and Eris feel during all this then? And so I had to write it.
> 
> There's a lowkey relationship/strong companionship between Astra and Cayde, I couldn't help myself while writing this. I just love Cayde too much.
> 
> Of course, I don't own any of the characters or dialogue from the game Destiny.

“Alright, here's what needs to happen: we have to steal a chunk of Hive crystal that's still got a trace of Crota's soul so you can pass through an interdimensional portal on the Dreadnaught and kill Oryx. I leave anything out, Eris?”

“It must be done before Oryx turns his scrying eye to this realm.”

Cayde rolled his optics, achieving the exasperated motion organics perform effortlessly. “Good luck, Guardian.” The slight tinge of sarcasm coloring his tone had Eris glaring at him, or he could only assume she was glaring since the green glowing eyes under the cloth were narrowed in such a manner.

“You doubt one of your own?” She asked once their mics were cut off.

Cayde kept a careful ear out for anything Astra might say over the comms as he glanced over at the Bane of Crota. “Az? Never. They’re one of my best, and I can _personally_ attest to that.” Despite the absence of a smirk on his face, it was ever present in his voice. “What I _doubt_ is your regard for their life.” His humor swiftly gained gravity.

“If they’re good enough for you to send them out alone, then I believe their mortality is the least of our concerns.” Eris said with finality, clearly irritated by Cayde’s lack of objective behavior. What was she to expect though, knowing the Exo’s track record.

Said Exo turned his full attention back to his Ghost, who was acting as a sort of radio, muttering something about stubbornness, but nothing more.

The mission went smoothly, with Eris interjecting a comment at least once, Cayde pretty much tuned her out after their small disagreement. The Exo Vanguard paid close attention when Az made it to the Crota crystals, hearing the familiar flare of Solar Light as a Golden Gun was used to take down the Gravekeeper, Baxx. Well, he thought Baxx was going down when suddenly things went silent and Astra’s Ghost said “It's gone. I think Oryx just took an Ogre!”

“Not even Oryx can control an Ogre unless it's Taken.” He heard Eris’s confusion, which did nothing to dissipate his uneasiness. The darker Guardian seemed to get over it quickly though. “Now quickly, find me a shard of that crystal!”

They waited for Az to collect the crystal and Cayde was almost sighing with relief, glad to be done with this whole co-lead mission with Eris. It was also painful “watching” (listening to?) his counterpart accomplish far-out things in the field while he was stuck at The Tower. Don’t get him wrong, he was overflowing with pride that his good little hunter had blossomed into the stellar aconitum they were communicating with at that moment, but he longed to personally experience the thrill of watching a comrade’s back as they Golden Gunned a difficult enemy down. No matter, a victory was a victory and he was mad impressed with his Guardian. The sooner Astra got back, the sooner he could hear their own relay of the mission over a few drinks in celebration. It seemed that’d been happening quite often ever since Az began rising in Vanguard rank. They’ve become a trusted confidant of the Vanguard, and a valuable companion of Cayde’s.

Cayde was shaken from his thoughts by his Ghost’s chirpy voice cutting through Eris’s monotone. “We’re losing the connection.” Cayde jumped and sat up straighter, looking at the monitor that was transmitting their Guardian’s location. Even the indicative dot was flickering in and out of view.

“Guardian, we're losing you. Guardian can you hear us? Something’s messing with the comms.” Cayde was typing almost frantically, searching for the interference, but came up empty handed.

“It’s... Oryx. He.. he’s there.” Eris managed between shuddering breaths. “They… they have to get out of there. I can feel it. They won’t survive if they try to stay.”

Just then, static started cutting into the audio feed. Cayde’s head snapped back to his Ghost, a chill moving through his circuits. “.... too many… Run!”

_Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck._

Cayde’s processors almost went into overdrive when the comms cut back out. Fruitlessly, he tried to reach the Guardian again. “Guardian, can you hear me? Really starting to worry us here.” The humorous lilt he tried to add just wilted under the crushing panic he was starting to feel. Eris’s Ghost didn’t make it through this, hell, _Eris_ almost didn’t make it through this, and Eris hadn’t even succeeded in killing Crota. Stars know what Oryx is cornering Astra with.

“This is exactly how he trapped me for so long…” Eris spoke more to herself than to Cayde, but the Hunter Vanguard still caught it and it only concerned him more. No, right now he needed to clear his mind.

The Exo took a deep “breath” and shook the mechanical equivalent of adrenaline from his pipe system. He just needed to think clearly. “Guardian, are you getting this?” He tried again, despite the “TRANSMISSION LOST” message that glared at him on the screen. All he needed was a second of connection, a fraction of a second just so Az knew their Vanguard was trying all he could.

Eris seemed to have fallen into some sort of reverie, as though she was here, but not really. The situation probably wasn’t bringing back happy memories, Cayde thought.

The frantic exo tried everything he could think of, no matter how slim the chances of them working were. Rerouting the connection to a different channel, several different channels. Encrypting the transmission to hell and back. Combing the moon for any stray beacons or distress signals. Hell, Cayde even attempted to use a whole other system (“I need to use your console for only a _second, please_ , Zavala.”) In the end, Cayde was left leaning over the mission console that would reveal nothing about Az, not even informing them if Az was dead or alive.

It wasn’t fair, but life never was. Now wasn’t the time to feel sorry for himself.

Cayde punched the table, the sound of metal on metal likely being the reason Eris began to stir from the position she had fallen into several minutes earlier.

“We’re going to lose them… just like Eriana.” It sounded heartbroken, like Eris had already given up. Before the Exo could retort, static came from the comms.

“That’s Eris. The… getting stronger.” Cayde’s head snapped back to the monitors and sure enough there was the Guardian’s location, not as deep under the moon’s surface as they were before. The dot would flicker in and out of view for minutes at a time, but it was there and it was proof that Az wasn’t gone yet.

A triumphant howl left Cayde before he could stop it, his optics ablaze like never before as he worked to establish a stronger connection. “Az, we can hear you. Can you hear us?” Several moments of static are the response he receives. “Any day now.” He comically drags out the ‘a’, but to no avail. Seems the connection is only one sided for now.

Something about “three locks” breaks through the static, but that's all Cayde and Eris get while they watch the Guardian’s flickering light dash about the monitor. Finally, the connection stabilizes almost entirely.

Eris is the first to notice. “Guardian? Get out of that pit! We must have that crystal or we’ll never reach Oryx!” Az’s location was already quickly advancing towards the surface. Cayde realized he had been holding his "breath" up to this point and let the warm air escape through his mouth plates.

“Guardian, is that you?” He asked upon hearing a short crackle of static and an undignified “oomf” from the other side. A glance at the monitor confirmed that Az had indeed made it out of the temple and the noise they had heard was likely the sound of them falling to the ground.

“We made it out!” The robotic voice of a ghost broke through.

“Then the Taken King will fall. Bring me his dead son’s crystal.” Eris was standing now, any sign of the defeat she felt earlier wiped clean from her features. Cayde rolled his optics once more, knowing damn well Eris was as relieved as he was that Az had made it out.

“That’s how Eris says she appreciates your sacrifice.” Eris shot him a look of distaste, something he was used to from her by now, before walking out of the room. Before the comms cut out to signify the end of the mission, Cayde added one last thing, heavy relief present in his tone. “Glad you’re still alive." A bit of a smirk entered his voice. "Drinks later?”

**Author's Note:**

> Because I'm a fool, I'm gonna be working on another one shot titled "Drinks Later?" very creative, I'm aware.
> 
> Thank you for reading :') ♡ feedback welcomed! ♡


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